Basic Rules of Comedy #4: Empathy

When you are telling a joke, recalling an anecdote or writing a script, it is important not to alienate your audience.

You need their empathy, their understanding. You need them to root for you, otherwise your joke falls down. Even with unlikeable characters such as Ricky Gervais’ ‘David Brent’ in The Office or Steve Coogans ‘Alan Partridge’, we still want them to succeed, we support them.

If your audience cannot connect to who you are as a person, or associate with your character, you’ve lost them. You need them on your side. And the best way to do this is to give them something they can relate to, something they understand. Life events we all go through help with this; birthdays, relationships, parents. This is the basis of connecting with your audience.